Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Snow Days and Your Business

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you don’t need to pay non-exempt employees for time not worked, meaning you don’t need to pay non-exempt employees for time missed due to weather-related reasons. This applies whether your business completely shuts down for inclement weather, or if it remains open and individual employees can’t report to work. ... Exempt employees, on the other hand, can’t have their salaries reduced “for absences occasioned by the employer” so if your company closes due to bad weather for less than a full workweek, you must pay exempt employees their full salary for that week.

Within these broad guidelines, it is advisable to tailor your weather-related policies to your unique business. For example, should nonexempt employees be paid if the business closes early? Can some employees work from home? Under what considerations will the business close? It is essential for your employee handbook to address these and other issues to provide clarity to employees and reduce the potential for misunderstanding or liability.